Funding : 260 000 €
Duration : 1 Septembre 2025 – 24 mois
Principal Investigator : Victor GONCALVES
Project summary
Targeted radionuclide therapy is an increasingly used approach in oncology. It involves the administration of a radiopharmaceutical—a drug labeled with a radioactive isotope—designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells. However, this therapy still faces certain limitations: as long as the radiopharmaceutical has not yet accumulated in the tumor, it also irradiates healthy tissues, which limits the dose that can be safely administered.
To address this challenge, researchers at ICMUB have developed SUPRALINK, an innovative bioconjugation technology based on supramolecular chemistry. This approach enables the design of radiopharmaceuticals compatible with pre-targeting strategies, which separate the administration of the targeting vector (non-radioactive) from that of the radioisotope. In practice, the vector is first injected to selectively bind to cancer cells. Once it has accumulated in the tumor and cleared from healthy tissues, the radioisotope is administered. Thanks to SUPRALINK, the vector and the radioisotope can then rapidly and selectively assemble in vivo through supramolecular interactions.
This technology paves the way for a new generation of radiopharmaceuticals that are safer and more effective, by expanding the therapeutic window and reducing side effects for patients. The SUPRALINK project is supported by SATT SAYENS as part of a maturation program aimed at accelerating its development toward industrial and clinical applications.des applications industrielles et cliniques.
